The present invention relates to the technical field concerning automatic packaging of powder or liquid articles into suitable containers, e.g. bottles, ampoules or phials.
In this particular case the present invention relates to a conveyor including a pair of metallic belts, arranged side by side, for conveying containers having various size through a sequence of working stations including e.g. containers filling stations, weighing stations, stations for closing the containers, etc.
Currently, the use of smooth metallic belts, is particularly advisable in all cases, in which the conveyors operate in substantially aseptic environments, where high hygiene conditions must be maintained, e.g. for packaging articles in a sterile environment or in isolated system supplied with sterile air.
This need is particularly felt in pharmaceutical products field, where the possibility to work in a sterile environment allows to package products substantially free from impurities and bacterial contamination.
Currently, different types of conveying lines are used for moving the containers, using stationary sliding surfaces, usually made of Teflon, on which the containers are moved by suitable driving means, which generally include one or more belts of synthetic or metallic material.
In cases of especially large conveying paths, endless belts are used, which are driven by a pair of transmission pulleys, driving and driven, respectively.
The conveying lines having single pulling means include one belt or one chain, to which means for gripping or pushing the bottles are fastened.
The gripping means, usually removably fastened to the belt or to the chain, fulfill their task only on a limited range of sizes of the bottles supported on the conveying line.
Another type of conveying line includes pairs of metallic conveying belts, arranged side by side, moved synchronously. Each of the belts is equipped with a plurality of arms extending substantially orthogonal with respect to the forward movement direction, and extending above the adjacent belt.
Opposite arms, fastened to different metallic belts, define receiving seats for containers moved by the conveying line.
The object of the present invention is to propose a conveyor for containers of different sizes, which assures particularly quick and reliable size change over operations, assuring at the same time best production rate of the conveying line connected thereto.
Another object of the present invention is to propose a conveyor, which maximizes the stability of containers during their movement and assures high standards of functionality and rapidity of the containers size change over operations.
A further object of the present invention is to propose a conveyor, which is simple to obtain and reduces considerably time needed for installation and maintenance operations, facilitating sterilization procedures.
The above-mentioned objects are obtained in accordance with the contents of the claims, by a conveyor for containers including:
a first metallic endless belt and a second metallic endless belt arranged side by side and mounted on respective driving pulleys having parallel axes, the first and second metallic belts being operated to move with the same velocity in a selected forward movement direction;
a plurality of first retaining elements and a plurality of second retaining elements, removably fastened to the respective metallic belts to define corresponding seats for receiving and housing said containers;
said conveyor being characterized in that it includes operating means for changing the longitudinal dimension of each of said seats by adjusting the mutual angular positioning of said driving pulleys, with the first and second retaining elements defining the seat being situated one beside the other and partially overlapped when the longitudinal dimension of each seat reaches the maximum width.